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DE Vernon Gholston (Official Thread)

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ABJ

Buckeyes' defensive end has momentum

OSU needs Gholston to lead again, this time against Texas

By Marla Ridenour

Beacon Journal sportswriter

COLUMBUS - Ohio State hasn't had a feared pass rusher since the departure of All-American Will Smith after the 2003 season.
Redshirt sophomore defensive end Vernon Gholston showed potential in Saturday's season-opening victory over Northern Illinois.
A Detroit native making his first start, Gholston recorded five tackles (two solos), two sacks and 1 ? tackles for losses.
``I've been waiting for this for the past three years,'' Gholston said. ``We have a bunch of guys who could be starters on this defense. It's was definitely a great opportunity for me.''
Defensive coordinator Jim Heacock said last month that the 6-foot-4, 260-pound Gholston had been the most impressive of those slated to fill nine open starting jobs.
The Buckeyes will need Gholston to lead the rush on Longhorns' redshirt freshman quarterback Colt McCoy this weekend as No. 1 OSU visits No. 2 Texas.
``He's really fast. He's a freak athlete,'' fifth-year senior defensive end Jay Richardson said, claiming Gholston was ``my prodigy.''
``You can look at him and tell he's a football player,'' Richardson said. ``His thing was getting confidence in himself. The better you play, the more plays you can make, the more confidence those guys get. They say, `I can do this. I can compete at this level.' Once you have that, he'll be unstoppable.''
Tressel might not have suspected that last preseason when Gholston broke a finger. He missed two games and decided to redshirt.
Asked if he had any say in the matter, Gholston said, ``Kinda. Kinda not. I was definitely in the two-deep, though.
``Whatever's best for the team. If it came down to it last season, I could have got in there. We had Mike Kudla and he was doing pretty good. There wasn't a need to rush me into it.''
Tressel didn't think Gholston's performance Saturday was merely a player taking advantage of a matchup. He said based on the team's grading system in spring and fall, Gholston was ``our most productive player.''
``Now Vernon has to pass the test of time,'' Tressel said. ``He's made excellent steps, had a good spring, a good preseason, a good first game, now his second game has got to be even better. Sometimes after you've tasted success on the real stage, maybe that can propel you. If you come through for the team, does it give you confidence? I think it does.''
 
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The overall defense has improved through the first three games of this season, but the player who has improved the most since last fall is probably defensive end Vernon Gholstin.

"Vernon has been a surprise, he really has," said Heacock.

"He's done a great job and I'm real proud of him. He's a guy who has come from I wasn't sure he would play this year to be honest, and I've told him that.

"He improved so much from last fall to this spring, it's unbelievable to me. In spring practice the way we started performing, I never thought he'd be able to do that. The light switch just came on or something. I don't know what happened, but he plays well."
Click to expand...

http://www.the-ozone.net/football/2006/Cincinnati/postgame/noteandquotebook.htm
 
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DDN

For OSU defensive end Gholston, better late than never


By Doug Harris
Staff Writer

Saturday, September 23, 2006

COLUMBUS ? Ohio State defensive coordinator Jim Heacock had pushed all the motivational buttons, but he was beginning to write off Vernon Gholston as a high-talent enigma whose laid-back style was better suited for a more leisurely activity than football.
Like croquet.
The Buckeyes out-recruited Michigan for the chiseled defensive end. But Heacock didn't think the third-year sophomore from Detroit was much of a prize until watching him flourish in the spring. The 6-foot-4, 260-pounder, who wears No. 50, quickly seized a starting role and has been a disruptive force this year, recording 10 tackles and 2.5 sacks in the Buckeyes' first three games.
"He's been a surprise, and I'm real proud of him," Heacock said. "I wasn't sure he'd play this year ? I'll be honest ? and I told him that. But he improved so much from last fall until this spring. It's unbelievable.
"I never thought he'd do that. The light switch came on."
But the epiphany Heacock referred to actually was five years in the making.
Gholston never played organized sports until his sophomore year at Detroit Cass Technical High School, and he needed prodding even then to finally strap on a helmet.
"My head coach saw me walking in the hallway and said, 'Are you a parent here?' " Gholston recalled. "I said, 'No, I'm a student.' He was like, 'You've got to be kidding me.'
"He grabbed me and said, 'You're going to have to play for us.' I didn't capitalize on it then. But six months later, he took me in his office again and put me on the team."
Asked what his interests were before then, the well-spoken Gholston could only shrug.
"I didn't really know what I wanted to do," he said. "I went back and forth like a lot of kids do.
"I always liked being physical. I used to wrestle with my brother. But I didn't have any idea I'd be playing football."
The Buckeyes are certainly glad he's found his niche. They're tied for the Big Ten lead with 13 sacks, and the defensive line is engaging in a friendly competition to see who can bag the most quarterbacks.
Quinn Pitcock is the team sack leader with four. And although Gholston has a signature move that's serving him well, it's a closely guarded secret.
"I don't know if I want to reveal it," he said. "We have a couple opponents coming up, and I might want to use it then."
 
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CPD

OSU defensive end Vernon Gholston didn't start playing football until 10th grade. He always had the look . Now he has the game .

Saturday, September 23, 2006

Doug Lesmerises
Plain Dealer Reporter

Columbus

-- Vernon Gholston was a 14-year-old freshman walk ing the halls of Cass Technical High School in Detroit when he was approached by football coach Thomas Wilcher.
"Are you a parent here?" Wilcher asked.
"No, I'm a student," said Gholston.
"You've got be kidding me," Wilcher said, grabbing Gholston by the arm. "We're going to have you play for us."
Gholston wasn't immediately swayed, but six months later, Wilcher came calling again. So that's how the Ohio State starting defensive end played football for the first time as a 10th-grader. Five years later, he's second on the Buckeyes with 2? sacks and 3? tackles for loss entering today's Big Ten opener with Penn State.
While he's always looked like a football player, now he's playing like one, which even defensive coordinator Jim Heacock wasn't expecting this season.
"The light came on in the spring," Heacock said. "He's about as improved as any player I've ever coached from where he was last year and what my expectations were.
"Maybe it was confidence, maybe it was maturity.
"He hadn't played a whole bunch of high school football. He always had talent, but it's never shown like this."
To gaze upon the 6-4, 240-pound sophomore is to think nothing but football. Chiseled, his veins popping through his arms like angry worms, you see what his high school coach saw in that hallway. Even Gholston gives the results of his workouts some mirror adoration.
"A little bit," he said laughing. "Just before the game, I make sure I look good."
First-year director of football performance Eric Lichter has never caught Gholston gazing.
"I don't catch Vern checking his body out, I catch everyone else checking Vern out," Lichter said. "I don't think you could carve a statue better than Vern is built. He's just gifted physically from the good Lord. He's got no body fat. He doesn't have half an inch to pinch anywhere."
Gholston played linebacker in high school, but was switched to defensive end as a freshman in 2004 and played sparingly while backing up Mike Kudla. Last year, he broke his right middle finger when he forgot to wear gloves during a drill and wound up redshirting.
"It was a crushing experience," Gholston said. "I didn't want to sit back and watch."
He could practice, though, and he needed it. And he hit the workroom harder, now able to bench-press 400 pounds multiple times.
"Not many guys can do that," Lichter said.
Even now, much of what Gholston does is based on natural talent.
"When he got here, he was a little bit raw," Heacock said. "He's still, fundamentally, got a long ways to go. But he goes hard, and he's got good arm strength, and he's got long arms and good acceleration to the ball. He's got all the tools."
Gholston will have an edge on the most of the competition today. Penn State senior left tackle Levi Brown is one of the best in the country, but the rest of the Nittany Lions line is made up of first-year starters, including senior right guard Robert Price from Shaker Heights.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ With Gholston starting next to senior tackles David Patterson and Quinn Pitcock and senior end Jay Richardson, the Buckeyes haven't had to blitz as much as a year ago.
They're getting more than enough pressure from their front four. Just wait until Gholston really knows what he's doing.
To reach this Plain Dealer reporter:
[email protected], 216-999-4479
Click to expand...
 
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Yeah, the light switch came on, but wait until he has the "AHA!" moment. Bringing all the components together. Size, speed, strength, knowledge of the game, and that secret move he spoke of. Vernon is already being a force. The sky is the limit for him. I am enjoying watching him get better and better. Thank you Vernon for choosing OSU. Your fans love it! Get after those nittany lions today! Show them what your made of. GO BUCKS!!:biggrin:
Moose
 
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2.5 sacks at this point in the season is impressive when you consider:
  • NIU: Doug Free (Jon Brost(sp?)) wasn't bad either
  • UT: Justin Blalock - UT OL is among the nation's best.
He's nearly averaged a sack a game, when 2 of the 3 games were against better offensive tackles than he'll see the rest of the year.

He'll average better than a sack a game for the season. Not bad for a sophomore.
 
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DaddyBigBucks;615164; said:
He'll average better than a sack a game for the season. Not bad for a sophomore.
Click to expand...
I'ts not bad for anyone :)
A Fantastic rush from the front four would be lights out this year. Maybe we could rename the "Shoe "Sack City".......:) NAHHHH it would always be the "Shoe"
Hey on Oct 28th they could adververtise "watch out for the Ghol" haha:biggrin:
 
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Bad ass pic of Vernon:

13074.jpg


I don't know if he got the tackle or not but I think that's just cool...
 
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